Villains
by Hugo V
Summary: In which there are no happy endings. *five brief excerpts detailing each of the SOS Brigade members and their own personal demons*
1. Unhappy Ending - Yuki

_Yuki_

* * *

The boy, the god catalyst - he has underestimated the lengths to which we strive to meet our ends. Petty threats for the petty, but we are great, and stand taller - see more. Regardless, he must be pacified. The malfunctioning Integrated Data Human Interface has been recalled.

Contents include one (1) black coat assigned to North High students, one (1) white undershirt assigned to North High students, one (1) pair of black stockings, two (2) brown shoes, one (1) pair of matching white undergarments, and one (1) tan bookmark bearing the inscription 'Read!' in black ink.

For catalogue of apartment furnishings, see Document I87.

'Yuki Nagato' has been effectively decommissioned/terminated due to the buildup of erroneous data, failure to comply with protocol, and radical endangerment of Integrated Data Sentient Entity assets. It has been seamlessly replaced with an identical model, differing in no fashion discernable to its human peers, namely, Kyon.

Observation shall continue unheeded.

* * *

**1/5**


	2. Salty Tea - Itsuki

_Itsuki_

* * *

There's a reason behind everything, she thinks. Tea is calming. It soothes. And so, step by step, Mikuru brews. It is a mechanical process: heat the kettle, boil the water, add the leaves. Pour. Pour. Pour herself. Poor her.

The fraying in her linen skirt goes unnoticed. The marks on her wrists and sides stay artfully hidden. Until they heal, the answer is ribbon. Blue and pink. Or white and black. And though she cannot speak with her mouth, her voice lies in her eyes. It's a small, pleading noise in the depth of her black pupils, and that's why she understands Kyon's inaction. He cannot see it.

So she stands in her spot, practicing her motions. Half-naked, torn, bruised, expressionless in the aftermath - unable to defend what is no longer there.

And Koizumi smirks, dusts himself off, and leaves the club room.

* * *

**2/5**


	3. Grisly Outlet - Mikuru

_Mikuru_

* * *

Silence.

Alone in the clubroom with each other - Yuki Nagato and Mikuru Asahina are still. The latter glances towards the door, walks to reach it, turns the lock. Turns around. She tugs at the hem of her maid outfit like a little girl in an uncomfortable dress. And walks again. The brewing tea is left, forgotten.

Yuki folds her book closed and places it flat on her lap - relaxed, calm, impartial, she meets Mikuru's gaze. She shies away for a moment, then returns her attention with purpose. Anger furrows her brow, a fire lights behind her eyes. She tilts Yuki's chin with a curved finger, then presses her thumb down to pinch it. Hard.

A vicious slap sends Yuki's glasses to the floor - the second leaves a scratch, quickly healed. Mikuru runs her hands through tufts of lavender hair before gripping tight. She thrashes from side to side, gritting her teeth as Yuki's head whips violently from side to side. Tilting her nails, Mikuru drags them vertically down her victim's placid face, leaving eight shallow cuts.

Yuki's glasses shatter irreparably under Mikuru's heel.

"Clean it up."

Silence.

* * *

**3/5**


	4. Messy Tongue - Haruhi

_Haruhi_

* * *

It is a Wednesday when she says it:a harmless, nonchalant statement bearing no ill will.

"I like Imouto, but she can be pretty boring with all that little kid stuff. It'd be cooler if she were some kind of monster, like a goblin or a kitsune. I bet she is and you don't even know it!"

Haruhi cannot understand the look on Kyon's face immediately and 'immediately' is about the limit of her patience. She focuses back on the computer in front of her, attempting to edit the SOS Brigade's website with little success. From the corner of her eye she notices the faltering of Koizumi's smile, and Yuki's near-imperceptible shifting. Mikuru stiffens. Haruhi disregards these as trivial glitches in character and returns to her work.

Kyon leaves the club early that day-

-and doesn't come to school the next.

* * *

**4/5**


	5. Bloody Nose - Kyon

_Kyon_

* * *

Today I broke Haruhi's nose.

Tomorrow, the world ends.

Hours later, as the world gives way to gray, I fondly recall their expressions. Koizumi was mortified, no trace of a smile on his unnaturally twisted face. The arm he outstretched to catch me hung in the air, purposeless. Mikuru's motor functions seemed to give out, leaving her blank and beady-eyed. She collapsed against the futon. And Nagato, having directed her full attention in my direction, managed nothing more than an uncharacteristic gasp. Tsuruya frowned.

And me?

My ears ringing and fist stiff, I laughed. I laughed at the bullshit escapades, I laughed at the fruitless city-wide searches, I laughed at how easily I convinced myself that there might be some end to the trials - that the heavy baton I carried could be passed. I laughed at Haruhi, sitting on the wooden floor, nursing her wound. It dawned on me, as we stood still as a picture on the 'set' of the her latest project, that she was incorrigible. Unmanageable and impossible.

So this is how it ends.

So this is the natural conclusion to things.

So I'm the villain. Who would've guessed?

* * *

**5/5 And that's it. Hope you enjoyed this small series. Review at leisure. :)**


End file.
